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The Air Force on Friday detailed plans to cut the service by nearly 10,000 active, National Guard and Reserve airmen next year, as part of a broad move to downsize and shift capabilities around the country to be better prepared for wars of the future. More than half of the personnel cuts, and much of the aircraft and other equipment moves, will be borne by the Air Guard, triggering criticism from the National Guard Association. The Air Force said the service cannot absorb any further cuts in active duty forces because that would limit their ability to respond to multiple...

Last Colorado Air Guard MIA Laid to Rest in Arlington Cemetery Story by Tech Sgt. Mike Smith Posted on 04.08.2008 at 01:43PM ARLINGTON, Va. - The remains of Colorado Air National Guard Maj. Perry H. Jefferson, who vanished during an observation flight 39 years ago over the jungles of South Vietnam, were at last laid to rest at Arlington National Cemetery. Three days of events here were a high-profile attempt to put closure to a missing-in-action mystery, but what exactly happened to the intelligence officer and his Army Reserve pilot, then-1st Lt. Arthur Ecklund, during their fateful observation flight may...

Oregon Air National Guard officials are mounting a vigorous campaign to bring a squadron of the military's latest -- and most expensive -- fighter planes to Oregon to help patrol the West Coast. Guard staff on Friday unveiled a cockpit demonstrator for the F-22 Raptor at the Portland Air National Guard Base, one of a series of moves to show military officials that Oregon wants to beef up its patrol capabilities. Col. John Kent, commander of the Guard's 142nd Fighter Wing, said the F-22s are "critical to us pursuing our mission" of protecting the Pacific Coast. "My job is to...

1/29/2008 - TUCSON, Ariz. (AFPN) -- Pilots assigned to the 162nd Fighter Wing's Alert Detachment at Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, Ariz., will fly air patrols and air defense deterrence missions in support of the Super Bowl XLII Feb. 3 in Glendale, Ariz. Arizona's Air Guardsmen are teaming up with the North American Aerospace Defense Command in a consolidated effort with federal, state and local agencies to provide security for the National Football League's championship game held at 73,719-seat University of Phoenix Stadium. "We have the best jobs in the world," said Lt. Col. Moon Milham, the alert detachment commander. "We...

WASHINGTON, Aug. 27, 2007 – Nevada Air National Guard commander Brig. Gen. Robert V. Fitch said he couldn’t perform his military job -- sometimes requiring weeks of overseas travel -- without the superb support he receives from his civilian employer, Sierra Pacific Resources. The company is among 15 businesses and organizations selected to receive this year’s Secretary of Defense Employer Support Freedom Award. Fitch nominated Sierra Pacific Resources for the annual award, which honors businesses and organizations that provide exemplary support for employees in the National Guard or reserves. When not performing Air Guard duty Fitch lives and works...

NORTH PACIFIC: All 23 people aboard the listing Cougar Ace were retrieved by helicopters. By LISA DEMER Anchorage Daily News Published: July 25, 2006 Last Modified: July 25, 2006 at 02:24 AM Nearly two dozen crew members were hoisted to safety in rescue helicopters late Monday night from a giant car-carrying ship that had listed onto its side in the North Pacific Ocean, according to the Alaska Air National Guard and the U.S. Coast Guard.

This time it will be the Vermont Air Guard that draws the duty in Iraq. Several hundred airmen will be stationed there when the next deployment is complete Gov. Jim Douglas quipped, "One of your colleagues said to me recently, 'I'm just telling my friends I'm going somewhere warm for the winter." It was a joke that many Vermonters in uniform could understand and relate to. The Air Guard, with nearly 1000 members, can expect significant call ups every eighteen months, in which elements of the 158th Fighter Wing are integrated into the active service. A year-and-a-half ago, 350 Vermont...

BAGRAM AIR BASE, Afghanistan (AFPN) -- A total force unit here supports joint missions to help save the lives of the coalition forces on the frontlines. The Air National Guard, Air Force Reserve and active-duty nurses, medical technicians and others who make up the 455th Expeditionary Aeromedical Evacuation Squadron are on a mission: To transport injured and ill U.S. and coalition forces to locations where they can get the medical care they need. “We do everything that we can do to make sure that the people we treat have every chance at recovering from their injuries and being reunited with...

ROBINS AIR FORCE BASE, Ga. (AFPN) -- The first Future Total Force wing, the 116th Air Control Wing, is nearing its third birthday since merging active-duty Air Force, Army and Air National Guard units to form a “blended wing.” In October 2002, America’s first total force wing took flight as the 116th ACW and made history by combining active-duty Airmen and Soldiers from the 93rd ACW, along with Georgia Air National Guardsmen from the 116th Bomb Wing. The two wings formed one cohesive unit, flying the E-8C -- the world’s only Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System. The merger combined...

ARLINGTON, Va. (Army News Service, July 13, 2005) – More than 5,000 National Guard Soldiers and Airmen from four states rolled out or stood by to help when the hurricane season began earlier than usual this year. Hurricane Dennis battered Pensacola and the surrounding Florida Panhandle July 10, a Sunday afternoon and evening, with 120-mph winds, and cut a northwest track into Alabama before quickly losing steam. It was the first major hurricane in seven decades to hit the United States in July and one of only seven major hurricanes to occur in July during 150 years that records have...

Recently, entertainer Pat Boone wrote NewsMax editor Christopher Ruddy a letter regarding his feelings on Abu Ghraib and Iraq, the contents of which are published here with permission: Mr. Christopher Ruddy Editor, NewsMax Dear Chris, Hasn't anybody got the guts to accuse the worst perpetrator in this whole Abu Ghraib prison debacle - CBS and 60 Minutes II? What do you call it when, in time of war, someone takes military intelligence and turns it over to the enemy, who in turn uses it to kill Americans? Isn't that the definition of treason? Did Benedict Arnold do worse? Did Julias...

WASHINGTON (AFPN) -- One of the F-16 Fighting Falcon pilots who intercepted a private plane that strayed into restricted airspace here May 11 said he was prepared to use force if necessary to prevent a potential attack, and expressed confidence in the security system protecting the nation's capital. Lt. Col. Tim Lehman, of the District of Columbia Air National Guard's 121st Fighter Squadron, said he was surprised when the Cessna's pilot did not initially respond to signals meant to change his course. Colonel Lehman's F-16 fighter jet made three passes by the plane, dropping warning flares to get the pilot...

Most Air National Guard truck drivers probably haven't fired a rifle in two years, but their duties are shifting like the sands of Iraq. Starting Monday, 10 truckers will begin the first class of a new six-week convoy training course at Camp Bullis as the Air Guard steps up efforts to bolster the Army's most dangerous mission in Iraq. Five more airmen will arrive Feb. 6.

Hoaxes Propped Up CBS's Fraudulent Memos Dan Rather's CBS' 60 Minutes Hit Piece on President Bush's ANG Record based on Left-Wing Media Hoaxes. By Col. John H. Wambough, Jr. USAF (Ret.) October 22, 2004 - See Bush and Uncommon Valor www.nsar.us Article: Series One Leapfrogged Hundreds Hoax and Political Influence/Favoritism Hoax Since Left-Wing Media (LWM) has fabricated many hoaxes (concerning President Bush's Air National Guard service), it is not practical to address each of them in one article - so they will be presented to the American people in a series, starting with the “Leapfrogged Hundreds Hoax” and “Political Influence/Favoritism...

Governors will be able to call on at least 50 percent of their National Guard forces for homeland defense missions and other state emergencies because of a plan to realign Army and Air Guard units during the next few years, the chief of the National Guard Bureau promised in late February. "We will balance our forces, focusing on the right force mix and the right kinds of units with the right capabilities in every state and territory," vowed Lt. Gen. H. Steven Blum while addressing the National Governors Association's winter meeting here. The intent is to have no more than...

INDIANAPOLIS — The leader of the Indiana National Guard has approved F-16 fighter jet flights for several Democratic contributors or activists since Gov. Frank O'Bannon tapped him for the post. The Indianapolis Star reported yesterday that in the 21 months since O'Bannon, a Democrat, appointed Maj. Gen. George A. Buskirk Jr., Buskirk has allowed 11 civilian flights — most of them for major Democratic contributors or activists. By contrast, only about half the number of Indiana civilians flew in nearly twice the time under Buskirk's predecessor. And only two of them had donated to Democrats. Buskirk told the Star that...